VCCI President Pham Tan Cong (third from left) at a working session with Mr. Kohdayar Marri (fourth from left), newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to Vietnam and Laos

Ambassador Kohdayar Marri said, although Pakistan is a new market to Vietnamese businesses, it is currently catching increasing attention. Pakistan has a large labor force, with strengths in agriculture and garment (big producers and exporters of denim fabrics). Pakistan is also rich in many minerals such as marble, stone and gemstone.

He hoped that Vietnam-Pakistan business cooperation will be strengthened in the coming time, adding that the two countries have a lot of potential for cooperation in agricultural products, food, technology and other fields. Currently, some Pakistani companies are seeking to build and cooperate to open tours for Pakistani tourists to visit and experience Vietnam.

Specially, the Food & Agriculture Expo 2024 is scheduled to take place in Karachi, Pakistan from August 9-11, 2024. He hoped that VCCI and the Vietnamese business delegation would attend and introduce agricultural products and foods at this event.

“There are a lot of opportunities for successful development and cooperation in the Pakistan market. To do so, the two countries need to increase direct business meetings and exchanges, seminars and forums for businesses of both sides to participate in Pakistan and Vietnam. The Pakistani Embassy in Vietnam is ready to support Vietnamese and Pakistani businesses to connect and cooperate in investment and market expansion," he affirmed.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong shared that VCCI represents the Vietnamese business community which consists of a broad nationwide network of members. Pakistan is currently one of Vietnam's important trade partners in South Asia. Many Vietnamese importers and exporters of agricultural products, foods and animal feed ingredients are interested in the Pakistani market.

VCCI has regularly exchanged information with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan - TDAP and closely cooperated with the Trade Office under the Embassy of Pakistan in Hanoi.

During his tenure of ambassadorial office, Mr. Kohdayar Marri, VCCI and the Embassy of Pakistan in Vietnam will continue to closely coordinate in disseminating information about trade promotion events in each country and connecting businesses, not only in trade but also in other areas like investment and tourism.

In 2023, VCCI organized a business delegation to Pakistan to attend the first Food & Agriculture Expo in Karachi and the ASEAN-Pakistan Conference in Lahore, which were very positively praised by the business community.

This year, VCCI has actively promoted and urged Vietnamese businesses to participate in the second Food & Agriculture Expo in Karachi. Given Pakistan's significant role as a major supplier of animal feed ingredients like corn and wheat to Vietnam, along with other agricultural products, the participation of Vietnamese businesses is highly feasible.

In 2023, bilateral trade surged to nearly US$700 million, highlighting Vietnam's exports to Pakistan amounting to US$386 million. Key exports included tea, pepper, textile fibers, iron, steel, rubber, electronic products, and mobile phones. Conversely, Pakistan exported approximately US$300 million worth of goods to Vietnam, primarily consisting of animal feed ingredients, pharmaceuticals, cotton, fabrics, and textile and footwear materials.

These encouraging trade figures showed that the potential for bilateral trade growth is still huge and the commodity structure is mutually complementary.